alicat58

Hi Rio

My daughter has arrived back from South Africa today and thinks I am mad to look at venues and stuff. She says she'll start thinking next week.

No idea how many bridesmaids etc she'll have. I actually don't know how many of her friends will be able to afford going to South Africa for this wedding. They are thinking 60 people. Hmmm fortunately the rand is not too strong most of the time.

I am also think trouser suit type thing but will have to get something cool as it may be quite warm in October. I hope I can get something floral on a dark back ground. Not seen anything that vaguely fits the bill. I used to sew but I do not have the time now. That has nothing to do with the amount of cruises we do. I actually made my own wedding dress with mum helping with fitting etc. It was thick white guipure lace over satin. Very simple. Not a meringue. Daughter mine will have to choose something non-meringue as well otherwise we'll have to get a massive trunk to get the thing to Cape Town and back.

Back to the cruise.

Aix was OK. The problem is that there is very little open on a Sunday. Presume you will be there on a Sunday too. The Costa transfer was not too expensive but a bit short.

I think Palermo itself is a bit of a tip. However from the bus we actually saw things we would not mind to see. The HoHo bus there was the biggest rip off. We used it a few years ago. Hardly stopped anywhere and it was not really HoHo either. The taxis were daylight robbery.

We usually try and board in Savona because there is so little to do there. There is an amazing pizza place close to the port called Solo. Usually filled with crew and locals. The only problem with Savona is getting there.

We found the Costa transport to Rome works really well. We left a little after we docked and we were in Rome by about 11. This time they stopped at the Colosseum. Last time it was close to Marcello theatre. We left again at 4pm I think and back in good time. The train is cheaper but it is quite a faff I thought.

I started looking at the Europe ports and I am trying to figure out what we are going to do and whether there are decent restaurants we can go to.

We are going to London next Saturday and staying overnight. Leaving the cats at home. We've never done that. Just going to leave lots of food and water. The one will probably eat all the food before we locked the front door. Little pig.

Anyway, talking about cats they are asking for their supper.

Let me know how you are getting on with the shopping.

Riana

Hi All

I am in a frenzy about this wedding and it is 19 months away.

I never mentioned the last day.

We arrived back in Savona and left our hand luggage in the casino storage area. They had quite a few areas where you could leave your luggage. We got off the ship and walked around Savona for a bit. We discovered a few churches we have not seen but they did not allow photography. I found this really odd because the main cathedral and the adjacent chapel did not have any restrictions. We eventually went back to the ship and this caused some consternation. Surely they must have many people who do not have early transfers.

We arranged a transfer with a company we have used in the past. Quite expensive but really convenient. We had a flight from Genoa to Stansted later the afternoon. We got to the airport with about 3 hours to kill before our flight. Well that was the plan.

Of course it was snowing like anything in the UK. Chaos ensued. Our flight eventually arrived and we got on the plane. Nearly 2 1/2 hours late. Nope, pushed back due to a technical fault.

Now I have no problem with kids but Italian kids seem to be even louder than other kids. There were so many of them on board. The noise levels were deafening. The parents also do not say anything because they are equally loud.

We eventually landed 3 hours late and in a blizzard. Had to get off the plane and walk in that on a slippery bit of runway to get into the building which was deserted so we were through passport control in a flash and on our way home with our trusty taxi man.

House was freezing but by the following morning we were all back to normal.

Now I am going back to look for mother of the bride outfits that do not come in pastel.

Alicat

I dug some more and found a bar menu but I think it is out of date. I do remember Hendricks gin was not included. On mine old list the Vodcas are Ciroc, Absolute(also the citron and rasberry), Ketel One and Grey goose.

Rum:Ron Zappaa 23yrs old, Bacardi 8yrs old, Bacardi Oakhart.

Cognac: Courvoisier Napoleon, Courvoisier VSOP, Martell VSOP and Remy Martin Prime Cellar collection

Gin: Bulldog, Tanqueray n Ten and Bombay sapphire

Whiskey:Glenfiddich cask collection, Talisker, Ballantines Gold seal, Chivas regal, Glenlivet, Johny Walker black label and Jack Daniels(that's not whisky is it?)

Grappa: Storica Secolo Domensis and Nera Domensis

Tequila: Don Julio Reposado and Blanco

There is a French fizz included in the Intenditore:D

I think all the cocktails including the molecular and solid ones were included in the past. I think they still are.

There are more wines included in the package than the Piu Gusto. Also Looza juices and the freshly squeezed orange.

Also a wider range of beers.

Hope that helps a bit more.

Alicat

Hi, I dug around and unfortunately no bar menu. When are you cruising?

Alicat

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Grey goose is included. I'll dig around at home to see if I have a menu. Bulldog and Tanquirey gin (not sure about spelling). Can't remember others.

Alicat

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Hi

Bob we are going on the Mediterranea from Dover. We've not been on her as yet. Includes Le Havre, Amsterdam, Zeebrugge, Bremerhaven and Hamburg. Should be a bit different.

My husband already said this wedding is going to curtail our cruising activities. Not only did she get engaged to her Aussie boyfriend in South Africa , they want to get married there. We do have family and friends there but how we are going to manage the arrangements at a distance I have no idea. I assume dad's check book will have to deal with it. They are still there and we'll discuss the whole idea when they get back to London. I actually put the wrong date. It will be October 2019! Apparently it is half way between Australia and England. Not sure about that.

Pre-dinner drinks were in the Grand bar which is in the wrong corner of the room we have decided.

Rio, let me know how you get on with the wedding preparations. As I mentioned I put the wrong year so we have some time to arrange. I told my friend 19 cake free months for me! Ugh, going on a diet is the pits.

Riana

Hi

Few things I needed to get back to.

Bobbingbob: We've only ever booked a mini-suite. That was on the Neo-Riviera and at that stage (last year September) it was open seating in the Club restaurant. All the other times we had upgrades to suites and that was still open seating. Our first experience with the two sitting melarkie was on the Victoria in January. We did not set foot in the club at all. Diamond Pearl members were seated in a separate area of the MDR. We noted that the Club was mostly deserted and that really peeved us. The up side of this arrangement was that we could have any of the "paid for menu" free. The only two options on the Diadema in the Club were the fillet steak and the prawns.

The up coming drinks package: I looked at another cruise just to confirm what it said about the Brindiamo. It clearly states some cocktails are included. I then had a look at our booked cruise in our basket. So Costa is cheating again because it is just the bog standard Brindiamo and we'll have to upgrade to Piu gusto as the agent on board said.

sw1002: I hope you are nearly on board and exploring the ship. Have a wonderful time.

I now have three thinks to plan.

1)Cruise in may

2)Road trip to Provence in July

3)Try not to interfere in the daughter's wedding plans for October 2018. That is going to be very hard.

Any further questions I can help with please let me know.

Riana

Ps Ron, any news?

Hi Lindsay

This was our fourth time on the Diadema. I was very surprised that hubby suggested going on her because we said "never again".

We actually really enjoyed it. There was a good buzz on the ship, I didn't think the food was a problem and for the first time on the Diadema we actually enjoyed the entertainment. They went through a phase of starting bar entertainment quite late but all three bars stated something at 20.15. The Grandbar started dance lessons at 17h00 and it was followed by bands rather than piped music. The atrium was even earlier but with the "market" going on there daily we never went in the evenings.

Our biggest issue in the past was the decibels the sound engineers set up. It distorted and was ear paining. This time it was still loud but sensible.

By the way I don't speak Italian, French or German. Never had a problem on a Costa cruise.

All and all a very enjoyable cruise.

Alicat

Sorry not sure. We went out in the morning and came back at about 11.30. It was really quiet in the terminal. We then left at 12.45 and it was still very quiet. We arrived very late, after 3 on embarkation day and it was also quiet.

Really sorry that I can't be of more help. Our very first experience in 2005 was dire. We arrived by Costa transfer and probably spent 3 hours in the terminal before boarding. Daughter was 11. Not a great experience. She is now 24 and got engaged yesterday. Mummy is telling the world! [emoji16]

I hope all goes well and you have an awesome time. The ports are great and I hope you have lovely weather.

Riana

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Sorry, no idea. Is there no time on your information from Costa. They usually give you a "board from" time.

Look at your emails rather than ticket.

Have fun.

Riana

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Square from cathedral steps. There was a harpist busking.

Inside the cathedral.

The bay and beach. Italian unpainted prettiness. Hubby said trying to sell paint in Italy will lead to bancruptsy.

So photogenic.

Also on the square.

Sailing out of Palermo. It was warm enough to have Mojitos at the bar outside on deck 5.

So that is it. I don't think you want to see photos of the forum etc.

I had a look at out new booking and the drinks package and will report back on the weekend.

Riana

Hi All

Few quick photos.

Veges in the market in Aix.

Manikins in Barcelona.

Pre-dinner drinks.

Cefalu

Square outside the cathedral. Look at those rocks around the town!

I'll do a few more in the next post.

Riana

Our most recent Diadema experience was totally different to the past. LOADS of Americans. We did three excursions with Costa, 2 really being transfers. The one guided tour had one bus just for English and the one we were on was French and English.

I agree though, do your own thing. With small kids sitting on a bus for long is not ideal. They get bored and irritable.

Alicat

Hi

Just a quick reply from work.

Welcome home Ron. Looking forward to hearing about your cruise.

Thanks for reading Keith.

I will hopefully have a little time tomorrow to add a bit more.

Alicat(Riana)

Last post for today.

The ports:

Marseille. A Sunday. We booked a transfer to Aix en Provence with Costa.It took about half an hour to get there. Nice enough town but we could not go into any of the cathedrals or churches because of Sunday services. I would suggest you keep that in mind if you go there. There was a nice market with some lovely looking fruit and veggies. I'll try and post a few photos when they have been uploaded to our server.

Barcelona. A Monday. Please note that Costa charges €10.95 pp for a shuttle to the area close to the Christopher Columbus column. The blue port bus changes €4 return pp and stops even closer. Due to bad research on my part all the places we wanted to visit were closed. The Picasso museum, the Dali museum and the History of Barcelona museum. Drat and double drat. We ended up strolling around the Bari Gothic and had a nice lunch (Tapas) in the area.

Palma. A Tuesday. We've been lots of times and our main aim is to have lunch at our absolute favourite restaurant. We went up to Belver Castle by taxi. Got ripped off. It is a battle getting a taxi back down to town. We strolled around town for a bit and went to our usual have a beer place on the square in front of the Eulalia church. Really cheap and you get a bowl of amazing olives to snack on whilst watching people go by.

Day at sea. We went to see the Costa club chap because you cannot get an updated list of your points off the website. He printed hubbie's twice so I had to go back. We also booked a cruise on the Mediterranea out of Dover at a crackingly good price. We've not been on her. The rest of the day was spend reading eating and drinking too much.

Palermo: We booked a Costa excursion for a panoramic tour of Palermo(read you sit in the coach and watch the world go by) and Cefalu. There was a bit of walking involved. A pretty town on the coast with a nice cathedral and square. Back to the ship in time for lunch.

Rome: DIY transfer to Rome. Dropped us off close to the Collosseum this time. We visited the forum, then walked to the Pantheon to go and have lunch. Afterwards we strolled back via lots of churches including Santa Maria Sopra Minerva where you are not allowed to take photos. Ridiculous considering it's OK in St.Peters. Back on the coach for the 90 minute ride to the ship.

That is it for now. I'll hopefully have a bit of time on Wednesday and will post a few photos later on.

Have a good week.

Alicat

Hi (I wish it was) Gettingwarmer

It is still an enigma. We actually booked another cruise for May and the cruise consultant, who did not speak the greatest English I have to say, said it stays the same but you can pay a supplement when you get on board to upgrade to a Piu Gusto. It will be about €3 pp/d.

That seems contradictory to what is on the booking pages on the Website. If you look at that it says cocktails included in Brindiamo. I studied the drinks list and it only includes non-alcoholic cocktails. It does include some spirits.

I did not attempt getting the info out of any other member of staff on the ship. We'll have to see if anyone else comes up with the info before I cruise again:evilsmile:.

Back to my thoughts.

The bars:

Our usual go to place on most ships for a pre dinner drink , is the atrium bar. Sadly the only time we ended up going there was before breakfast to get our usual glass of grapefruit juice. I think it was Bobbingbob who said that they change the atrium into a market every night. So right! They were selling tat there every evening and it was packed with people getting carried away buying rubbish. The music was actually quite good. I have no idea how the performers can put up with such nonsense.

Grandbar: 2 good bands and loads of people dancing from about 18h00. Also lots of dancing lessons just before the bands started. There was a dance group on the ship and they danced from early on. We are not dancers but would have been too embarrassed to have a go with these people on the floor. I found them on the internet. Tiger Dance Company from France.

Rockbar: We did not go

Theodora bar: There was a great band playing from 20h15. They played well known stuff but quite jazzy. 2 singers(1 male and 1 female-good voice), good drummer, excellent lead guitar, good key board player and a bass guitar which I think was good. Unfortunately they were not there every night because they often had other stuff on in the bar.

Piano bar: The same guy that has been on for ages. He's OK.

Theatre: We did not go! There was a tenor one evening, acrobats and the usual Costa stuff. We listened briefly from the back when they did the "Kings and Queens of rock". Did not think much of the female singer.

All in all the entertainment in the bars were much better than we have experienced on a Costa ship for ages.

That's it for now. I might be back for another round shortly.

Alicat

Hi Everyone

We are back at home in a very cold UK. I am not going to write a long story with photos this time but just some impressions of the ship etc.

We flew Ryanair from Stansted which is only 40 minutes drive from home. Our friendly taxi driver collected us as usual and we were through security and the rest in next to no time. Ryanair has a new money making racket. You have to book priority to be able to take hand luggage on board. You are still allowed on small carry on bag. Be aware that this can cause delays and most cases will end up in the hold. We had a very tight schedule so booked this. We arranged a Costa transfer from Malpensa. Our plane was supposed to land at 11.40 and the transfer was at 12.00. Now I know that is crazy and nerve wracking and ended being just that.

The powers that be at Stansted decide to double book a stand. We were called to gate 49 and when we got there they were still boarding the flight to Frankfurt from the same stand. The up shot of all of this was that we left 40 minutes late. Our plane was just sitting on the runway waiting. Hubby texted Costa in Milan and had an immediate response " I inform". Right?! My nerves were shot. I don't do stress so well these days. The moment we landed at Malpensa he texted again and once again had an immediate response. We managed to get on the first bus to the terminal and walked very quickly and found the Costa rep who took us to the bus. It was drizzling but we were on the bus with a lot of unhappy looking Germans. Sorry guys, out of our control.

I was extremely impressed with Costa for waiting for us. The rep said they usually wait if passengers let them know and keep them up to date with arrival times etc.

We arrived at Savona at about 15h30 and went straight through the arrivals process and to our cabin. It was a very long time since our early breakfast and we went to the buffet for a quick bite before muster which was at 16h15. We were in the theatre. It was lots of steps down from deck 10. We had to take our beautiful orange jackets with and put them on. Two things with this:1) They are not the most comfortable when you have to sit in a theatre chair and 2) They are HOT. I am sure I would not notice this if I need to use them ever. Hope not.

I have to add between arrival and snack we also went to see the Maitre'D about the dining time in the Club. They booked us for second sitting even though we asked for first. He promised to change our time for the next evening.

Club restaurant and food:

As we are Diamond Pearl members we can have all our meals in the club restaurant. We preferred the open seating arrangements from the past but they were extremely flexible. The only queue I ever saw was when we arrived just as they opened the doors one evening. Most evenings there were a few empty tables during the early sitting(18h30). We tended to arrive closer to 19h00 and it was never a problem.

I only saw two children in the restaurant during the week. One was on the last evening, I'd say about 10 yrs old and with granny and extremely well behaved. The other was on gala evening and it was a teeny baby and when it squeaked mum managed to settle it very quickly.

We did not have the bad experience Tenpin had with terrible dress code and noise. The crowd in the restaurant was much older and very subdued. Note to self: Don't go Christmas time because it will be a different story. Having said that , the ship was full of kids of varying ages.

I would say most of the meals we had at lunch time and in the evenings were fine to really lovely. I had a couple of mishaps. I love some of the vege dishes and they served one of my favourites on the first night. It is the Pasqualina pie. It was extremely hot and slightly dried out. I ordered another vege dish one lunch time and it was just vile. It was a lentil stew with roasted veges. The lentils were bone dry, no sauce at all. Hubby had a breaded pork chop and chips and that was also just not good. He said the chop was nice but it looked absolutely dreary on the plate. Just imagine a thin breaded pork chop and a few chips. Not even a salad leaf. The other thing that I found disappointing was that most of the puddings were the creamy sort. I avoid them. However, the cheese board was amazing. They had such a variety and the Gorgonzola could have walked away by itself it was that runny.

I can see that it will be repetitive but as we only had a week we were fine. Hubby is boring any way. He usually has the steak, rare. We rarely have a pasta course but tend to have a starter, main and dessert.

The service was good. We met Rheema and she remembered Tenpin (he is apparently a naughty man) and Bazbov (Barry and Donald-the two guys). We had different servers most evenings but they were all great.

So , all in all we had a reasonable experience in the Club restaurant. For those who eat in the MDR, the food is the same but the service might be very different.

Buffet:

We had lunch very late of our embarkation day and it was what it usually is. I'd rather not eat there. We had lunch on disembarkation day. We both had cheese burgers and chips. I thought they were nice but hubby thought not so good.

Breakfast at the buffet was the usual. We like to go a few times for the pastries as they do not have the full range available in the club. The first section was so busy but if you walked towards the aft pool into the Corona Blu it was much better. I was also impressed that they have decent bar service in the buffet again. It appears that they got rid of the drinks station within the buffet. I do not know whether it is the same on the other ships. We had no problem getting someone for cappuccinos or soft drinks the few times we were there.

I am going to have to take a break to get a chicken in the oven and go collect my furry children. Ask away if there are any questions and I'll try to help if I can. I'll will give some more info about entertainment and excursions later.

Alicat

Hi

Rome was overcast /sunny today. No rain. Walked 16800 steps.

The Victoria was in port this morning.

Alicat

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Hi Bob and Sweetsugar

In Palermo today. I only have Internet in ports.

I will definitely write about my thoughts but I have taken minimal photos.

We are totally hooked on cruising. The Victoria is an older and smaller ship. The ports for the one you're looking at are great. I'll be home on the weekend but have a business meeting Sunday morning. I will try and get to info Sunday afternoon before I pick the cats up. 🐱. Poor boys.

Rome tomorrow and drizzle forecasted. Drat!

Alicat

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Hi

You are right. No daily alcohol free package. Only the 20 or 30 drinks.

I assume you have cruised with costa before and as you live in Europe you'll know most of the ports.

I'll try and answer any questions you may still have.

We do our own thing in most ports. This time round we actually booked some with Costa. Mainly transfers to towns a little way from the ports. Cheaper than doing it privately.

Alicat

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Hi

I am pretty sure there is a non alcoholic drinks package that includes soft drinks and alcohol free cocktails.

Pepsi,pepsi light and max. 7up and orange all€3. Same for lipton ice tea, mixers and squash by the glass.

Juices between €2.60 and 3.50.

Cappuccino €2.70. Most cocktails €8.20.

All the above has an additional 15% service charge.

I'll see if I can get any of the drinks brochures and give you an idea of prices.

Where do you live? Which ship and which ports. Sorry I am being nosey. I might be able to give you information if you want.

Alicat.

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Hi

I enjoyed writing the review because I hope it gives people an idea of what you can see and do in the ports.

We always buy a drinks package. Usually you will have coffee, tea water and juice at breakfast. Lunchtime I think only water in the buffet.

They are charging the whole setup from April and except for the most basic tickets you'll have some type of drinks package included. I have no idea whether they will still sell packages aboard.

We don't only drink alcohol from the current package but also juices cappuccino, other coffees and water.

They charge for bottled water. Bottled water by the glass is part of the drinks package.

We are currently on the Diadema. If you want prices of specific drinks send me a message on this thread and I will look for you.

Costa is still more affordable than most of the other lines and despite a few irritations not bad at all.

Alicat

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Thanks Tanya

Hope the cold is better. A few more days work and I am off.

Riana

Hi Tenpin

I'l look out for Rhima.

I noticed you like the Teppanyaki. Whilst I quite like the food I don't like the "communal" dining and noise the chefs make. We will probably go for a pizza. We regularly do and see whether they have the burgers a little earlier. In November on the Luminosa the burgers and pizza were served a a section of the buffet. They set it up in the evenings and had table waiters. They had lots of discounts as well. I even got a present.:D It was a key ring(meh!) and a small cotton shopping bag. The latter is actually quite useful. I use to stock my room at work.

I am not so keen on the dining times. We enjoyed the freedom to get in a little later. We'll just have to see whether they let us in 15 minutes or so after dining time. We don't like to rush our meals but usually only have a started main and dessert. We don't have all the courses(often skip the pasta).

Any way, the case if packed and wrapped for collection tomorrow. Cats nearly died when they aw it. Both tried to get in and had to be shooed away. Poor things.

I'll report back when we return. I am not going to do a review as such. I think it will bore everybody to tears.

Alicat(Riana)

Another amazing review from Norris! I was getting withdrawal symptoms.

We flew to Singapore on 10 January for a few days in Singapore before embarking the Costa Victoria for 14 days in Malaysia, Thailand and Cambodia. Cruising the same time as you. It was an amazing experience.

I am looking forward to the day when I can get hubby off a Costa ship. I loved your review out of New York. On my list and so is going to Cuba.

I'll now go back to page 25!

Alicat(Riana)